Direction signal for automobiles



R. H. QU'ACKENBUSH. DIRECTION SIGNAL'FORAUTOIVIOBILES.

v A APPHCATION' FILED 'm`A`\/ e4, 1920. L,

Patented Deo. 12g-1922;

UWE/VTM 'AT-TRNEl/ stares PATENT OFFICE.

RALEH H. QUACKENBUSH, 0F BALDWINSVILLE, NEW YORK.

DIRECTION SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application :filed May 6, 1920. Serial No. 379,317.

To all Lo/2.0my it 'may concer/1,.'

Be it known that RALPH H.QUACKEN BUSH, of Baldwinsville, in thec0unty.of Onondaga7 in the State of New York, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Directional Signals for Automobiles, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings7 is afull, clear, and exact description.

rl"his invention relates to certain improve* i ments in directionalsignals for motor vehicles and is adapted to be mounted upon theuppernside of the highest point of the left hand fender in a mannersimilar to that shown in my pending application,

Serial No. 272,141, filed Jan. 20, 1919, so that its semaphore arms maybe swung outwardly from a substantially vertical osi tion over thefender to a substantially zontal position projecting some distance be'-yond the outer edge of the fender where it may be readily visible bytraffic officers, pedestrains and drivers of other vehicles fro-m thefront and from the rear of the machine upon which it is mounted toindicate the direction of movement or stoppage of said machine.

The main Objectis to provide thev sema.

phore arms with Wheel segments having grooved peripheries concentricwith their axis of movement for receiving suitable operating cables orcords which are connected to solenoid plungers movable tangentially tothe peripheries of their respective segments and attached to theircorresponding cables, whereby when either solenoid is energized, thecorresponding semaphore will A be swung from its normal to its operativeposition.

I am aware that the use of sema hore arms hinged to swing from a verticato a horizontal position has heretofore been practised, but in actualuse it is found that the vibration of the machine either by the engineor in passing over uneven road surfaces causes more or less vibration orrattle of the semaphore arms relatively to their housings or othersupports resulting in objectionable noise and undue wear of the parts,and one of .the specific objects of my ori- `invention is to providesimple/and eiricient means for automatically engaging and locking eachsemaphore arm in its normal position of rest against objectionablevibration without materially interfering with thefree opening movementof the semaphore.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts` of the device willbebrought-out in the following description;

In the drawings Figure 1 1s an end elevation of :a directional signalembodying the various features of my invention in which one ofl thesemaphore arms is adjusted to indicatethe direction (in this instance tothe left) of movement of the vehicle,"a portion ofthe fender upon vwhichthe device is mounted being shown in cross-section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of-the same device, the housing and one ofthe lamp cases being shownin section and the electric circuits being'shown diagrammatically.

Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken in the planes oflines 3-3 and 4-4, Figure l, except that the semaphores are all in theirclosed'positions.

,Figure 5 isan enlarged longitudinal sectional view of one of thesemaphore arms showing the manner of securing its'sections together.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the means for locking and releasing eachof the semaphore arms in and from its closed position.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken in the plane of line 7-7, Figure 6,except that the movable parts are in their normal positions.

This device is adapted to be mounted upon the upper face of the highestpoint of the front left hand fender, a's -A-, and comprises a basesection 1 and a suitable housing -2- which is mounted u on thebase -1-,the latter being secure to the fender by means of bolts ,-3.

The housing -2- comprises a bottom plate 4 and a sheet metal casing 5,the bottom -4- being secured by screws 6- directly to the upper face ofthe base -lso as to stand in asubstantially upright position whollywithin the opposite longitudinal edges of the fender lA-f,

The bottom section -lis rabbetted at 7 around its entire marginal edgefor receiving the lower end of the casing ,-a-

which is secured thereto byscrews 8- so that thecase may be removed byupward displacement-when the screws #8.- are 1 withdrawn. '-lhe base -1-of the bottom rml'y against Ithe upper face of different forms yoffender, whether flat or crown shape.-

'The base --1-, plate Lland case -5 are preferably rectangular in topplain althoughv the opposite side wallsof the case -5- preferably taperupwardly and terminate in a substantially semi-cylindrical upper end-9-, said case being preferably made of a single piece of sheet metalbent at right angles at the four corners and having its edgesoverlapping at -10- and secured to each other by rivets or equivalentfastening means, thereby producing a substantially water-tight housingfor the various parts enclosed therein.

A pair of upright standards -llare mountedupon and are preferably castintegral with the base plate *4sat the front and rear endsthereof so asto project up wardlyin substantially parallel planes in forwardly andrearwardly spaced relation A to points near the upper end of thecase -5-where they are provided \vith aper tures for receiving a pivotal pin orshaft -12-.

'This shaft extends forwardly and rearwardly in. a substantiallyhorizontal plane nearer tothe outer face of'the casing --5 I lthan tothe inner face thereof for receiving and supporting a plurality of7 inthis instance three semaphore arms -"i3-, 114- and l5- which normallyextend downwardly to points in proximity to but a short distance abovethe upper face of the .bottom plate and are adapted to vswing inparallel vertical planes about the axis of the pivotal bolt H12# throughvertical slots w16- in the outer upright wall of the c ase 5 Said armsbeing suspended from the shaft --l2- in such manner that their centersof gravity are always at the outer side of the vertical plane of theiraxis of movement, which causes them to close automatically by their ownweight and to normally lie mainly within the case, except as their outeredges are provded with flanges-17- of greater width than the slots i6-to form stops for engaging the outer face of the case to limit theirinward swinging movement, all of the arms vbeing adapted t0 swing fromtheir normal vertical positions to horizontal positions Substantiallycoincident with the hofriaseaa concentric with the axis of the pivotalpin l or shaft -l2- and extends through an arc of 90 degrees or moresandis provided with a groove 20- to receive and guide an operating cable-2l-, which is attached to said periphery at a'point in a verticalplanedirectly over said axis, while the remaining portion extends looselyaround and within said groove and tangential to said periphery so thatthe power required to move the arm from'its normal position to itselevated position will be substantially uniform and will permit thecable -21- to be attached directly to a movable plunger 22- 0f asolenoid -23- as the means for operating the semaphore.

As illustrated, the coil of the solenoid is secured by means of itstubular core -24- directly to the bottom plate -4- of the casing andextends upwardly from said bottom at the rear of the semaphore armsWQOT- so that when each solenoid is energized in a manner hereinafterdescribed7 its plunger will be drawn downwardly to 'operate thecorresponding semaphore arm through the medium of the cable -21--.

ln signals of this character, it is only necessary to throw thesemaphore arms to their signalling positions for a brief periodof timeduring which the circuit through the solenoid is kept closed through themedium of a suitable switch presently described, and upon thecle-,energizing of the solenoid by closing the switch, the solenoid armwill be returned to its normal position by its own weight.

Suitable means is provided for holding each solenoid arm in its closedposition against undue vibration or rattling, and for this purpose-thelower edge of each semaphore arm is provided with a tooth or shoulder-26- `adapted to be engaged by a pawl *26- which is pivoted` at -28 toshown` more clearly in Figure 6, to allow the pawl to rock in averticalplane aboutwith a lengthwise slot +30- for receiving- 'a stud29- on the bottom plate A, as e the pivotal pin -28-. This pawl isnormally drawn inwardly in the direction of closing movement of thesemaphore blade by means of a light coil spring 3luntil limited byV theengagement of the outer end wall of the slot v-30- with the pivotal pin-28-, as shown in Figure -1-, in which position the shoulder -26- on thelower end of the blade 19- is interlocked with the shoulder, as -32-' onthe outer end of the pawl which normally engages the outer end face ofthe shoulder -26-.

It is nowy clear that the semaphore blade will be yieldingly held in itsclosed position against lateral vibration by means of the coil spring'-31- which is of just-sumcient tension to resist any tendency of thelower end of the blade to swing outwardly during the vibration of themachine when traveling over uneven road surfaces, but on the other handIis readily overcome b the action of the solenoid upon the bla e inopening the same.

That is when the solenoid for any one of the semaphore blades isenergized, the arms immediately swing outwardly and upwardly and movethe pawl -27- a limited distance in the same""direction.against theaction of the spring -31-- and in order that the semaphore arm may bereleased from `engagement with ,the pawl, suitable means is provided fortripping said pawl immediately following the initial movement of thesemaphore arm from its normal position,

said means, in this instance, consist in providing the heel of the pawlwith a cam face 33- adapted yto ride against a fixed cam -34.- on theplate -4 -as shown in Figure -6-, said cams being arranged in suchmanner as to rock the heel of the pawl upwardly and to 'thereby withdrawits stud -32- from engagement with the shoulder `*26- immediatelyfollowing. the beginning of theoutward movement of the pawl by thesemaphore arms, and, as soon as the pawl is tripped from holdingengagement with said arm9 it is returned to its 'normal position by thespring w31-, the heel of the pawl being weighted to rock its outer endupwardly'as it rides down the incline of the cam -34- aided by thespring -31 which also tends to restore the pawl to a substantiallyhorizontal position.

Vhen the semaphore arm is released and returns by its own Weight to itsclosed position, its shoulder -26- which has an inclined inner end facerides. against the shoulder -32-, thereby depressing the corresponding'end of the pawl until the shoulder 26- has passed to the inside of thepawl shoulder at which time the latter in- 'terlocks with the shoulder26- to hold tl'iesemaphore 'arm against 'outward vi'bration.

Mounted in the upper portions of the front and rear walls of. the case-5 are a pair of electric incandescent lamps -35- and4 36- which,together with the semaphore arms serve as signals at night, the frontlight 35- being arranged to give a green light, while the rear lamp isadapted to give a red light, the cases of both of said lamps beingprovided with openings in the sides thereof to throw the light rays uponthe semaphore arms when the latter are adjusted for use.

The solenoids -23- and electric lamps $35- and-S- may be operated bycurrent from a battery ---B-, which is controlled bythe operator from aswitch board E- having any suitable construction of switches by whicheither solenoid or the lamps may be energized independently of' theothers, the return wires for the several electrically operated parts,and also the battery being grounded upon thel frame of the machine.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood uponreference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings,and while I have shown the construction preferred, I do not wish tolimit myself to the exact details shown and described. l

What I claim is: p

1. In a directional signal for automobiles, a signaling arm movable froma normal p0- sition of rest to a signaling position, means for operatingsaid arm, a detent lever and retracting means therefor for holding theing position, electrical means for operating said arm, aspring-retracted detent lever for holding thev arm in its normalposition and havingv a limited endwise'movement in the direction ofmovement of and by' said arm, la cam on said lever, and a stationarymember engaged by said cam for tripping the detent as the latter isdrawn endwise by the arm against the action of its retracting spring. l

3. In a directional signal for automobiles,.- a vertically disposedhousing mounted on one of the mud-guards of the automobile and providedwith a vertical slot in one Side, a signaling arm pivoted in the housingto swing through said slot and provided with a shoulder on its free end,a detent lever for engaging said shoulder and holding the arm in itsnormal position of rest against 100 arm in its normal position, saidlever having ln Witness Whereefl have hereunto set my hand this 20th deyet April, 1920;

RALPH H. QUACKENBUSH.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, ROSE Gr. CARROLL.

